To Be a Hero
by liketolaugh
Summary: When Director Fury learns that there is a whole set of villains he's never heard tell of, he's pissed off. When he learns that there's a new superhero to accompany them? What do you think?
1. Small No-Name Town

**A/N: Um... OK... So I've decided to try out this fandom. Now, I've written for it before, but nothing I've shown that's good. And not for ages. I'm not used to it. Black Butler, what I normally write for, is elegant and sinister. This... isn't. So I guess what I'm trying to say is that it might not be that good, and any advice and constructive criticism would be much appreciated. That said, read on.**

**Title: To Be a Hero**

**Author: liketolaugh**

**Rating: T**

**Pairings: None**

**Genre: Drama/Adventure**

**Warnings: None**

**Summary: When Director Fury learns that there is a whole set of villains he's never heard tell of, he's pissed off. When he learns that there's a new superhero to accompany them? What do _you_** **think?**

**Disclaimer: Sadly, Danny Phantom is not mine. Neither are the Avengers.**

* * *

"Director Fury!"

The call, while respectful, was just a little bit frantic, and Fury looked up, glaring at the junior agent who had entered and disturbed his work.

"What is it, Agent Mason?" he demanded, his tone making it clear that the agent would talk now or leave.

"Th-this just came in," the agent explained, looking cowed. Fury held out his hand expectantly, and he meekly handed over the newspaper he was carrying.

Fury glanced down at it, and the headline instantly caught his attention.

_Small Town Amity Park Disappears During Massive Ghost Invasion!_

Fury narrowed his eyes and leaned over the paper in focus, beginning to read.

_Earlier this week, small town Amity Park, which has been plagued by ghost attacks for several months now, townspeople say, vanished off the face of the planet in the middle of a massive ghost invasion. It was found to be unreachable by phone, satellite, or transportation…_

With each word he read, his anger and frustration grew. _Why the hell didn't I hear about this sooner,_ he raged to himself. _Something like this should have been on the radar a long time ago!_

It took far too long to reach the end of the article, but as soon as he had finished, he snatched up his phone and started to make calls.

They had to find out what was going on.

That was how the Avengers, hours later, found themselves seated at a table, watching Nick Fury pace back and forth. Finally, it was Tony, naturally, who broke the silence.

"So-o-o," he began, drawing out the 'o' with some interest and some impatience. "Was there a reason you called us here, Nicky, or did you just miss our pretty faces?"

Fury ignored the jibe, but turned to face them at last, expression grim. "I need you," he stated, weighing each word, "to look into something."

"Isn't that what the other agents are for?" Clint complained, looking almost as if he agreed with Tony.

Steve, though, caught on to Fury's thinking, and asked seriously, "Is it dangerous?"

"We believe so," Fury replied gravely. He dropped the newspaper, which he had read several times over, in front of the Captain, who read it as quickly as he could, and then groaned, muttering something about aliens, gods, and ghosts.

"Ghosts?" Natasha asked, sounding a little bit skeptical.

"Ghosts," confirmed Fury. He started to pace again. "According to my sources," meaning the newspaper, "this has been going on for some time now. I need information, and I need it _yesterday._ We need to know why the town hasn't been evacuated, who ended the invasion, I need to know the _names of the goddamn ghosts." _He glared at them. "Well? Get moving!"

There was another moment in which no one moved, but then Steve stood, saluted, and left, and the others trickled after him, Tony being the last, already complaining.

It was less than an hour before the Quinjet was prepped and ready to go, and as it took off, they were already deep in discussion.

"I was unaware that Midgard also had these beings of the undead!" Thor boomed conversationally, having had it explained to him what a ghost was. "In Asgard, we have creatures called Draugrs, but they are slightly different."

"Different how?" Bruce asked curiously.

"They more closely resemble your zombies," Thor admitted, having encountered zombies during movie nights. "We do not have these 'spirits', you see, so the undead restrict themselves to rising from the grave." His brow furrowed. "Draugrs are always quite malicious, so these ghosts concern me."

Natasha narrowed her eyes. "Always?"

"Always," Thor confirmed.

Natasha settled back into her seat, feigning relaxation, but there was a guarded look in her eyes that hadn't been there before.

That was about the extent of the productive conversation on the Quinjet – not to say that there hadn't been irrelevant conversation, mainly courtesy of Tony Stark, but that was beside the point.

But finally, they landed in Amity Park, which turned out to be a small town in the middle of nowhere. Bruce stayed behind, maintaining that exposing him to ghosts sounded like a _very _good way to bring out the Other Guy, but everyone else exited the small jet, fully uniformed.

Since Clint had landed the jet just outside Amity, they had just a little way to walk to enter the little town. Tony noted the sign reading 'A Nice Place to Live' and snorted, but didn't bother commenting.

But even when they entered the town, there wasn't any sign of ghosts, not even tension. Everyone was bustling about, going about normal business, and not looking concerned in the least. In fact, it seemed to be a perfectly normal day in a perfectly normal town. Then one little boy spotted the assembled group and cried, voice filled with excitement, "Mommy, Mommy, look! It's the Avengers!"

The mother of the child dutifully looked up, but when her eyes landed on them, they widened in shock, her mouth falling open slightly.

"Mommy, can we go talk to them? Please, please?" her son urged, eyes wide and hopeful, flickering between the Avengers and his mother. Already, people had heard the cry and were turning toward them. Steve winced. Yes, perhaps arriving in uniform wasn't the best for an information gathering mission. Tony flashed him a smirk, though; the public was thoroughly his territory, and he knew how to get information out of an excited crowd, no matter how infrequently he needed the skill.

"Yes, that's fine, sweetie," the mother breathed, allowing herself to be pulled toward them, and melting into the quickly gathering swarm.

Excited murmurs and the occasional cry of "The Avengers!" filled the air, but this, too, was typical of a normal town – well, those few that the Avengers found themselves in, at least. There was nothing at all to indicate any sort of threat, and Natasha was furrowing her eyebrows, trying to figure it out, because it didn't make any sense.

Her eyes flickered up and briefly met Steve's, and he nodded to her in silent agreement. Amity Park certainly didn't seem like a besieged town; they seemed to feel that they were safe.

Steve didn't understand, either.

But the crowd was pressing in, and Steve seemed to be having trouble controlling it, to say nothing of those less used to such things, like Natasha and Clint. Thor didn't seem to mind, but even he couldn't get them to quiet down long enough to get a word in edgewise, let alone ask questions.

That, of course, was where Tony came in, and he stepped forward out of his armor with a wide PR grin, gesturing with his hands (his arms, really) for them to quiet down. "Shush, shush!" he called out, chuckling. "Can't hear myself think with all this racket, so you best quiet down or we'll never get any questions answered."

And those were the magic words. The crowd, who indeed wanted their questions answered, quieted. It was a slow, gradual process, but it did, eventually, happen.

"One at a time, now," Tony continued, his grin more genuine and a bit more smug. He pointed. "Raise your hands, schoolroom style, and then we'll answer questions." At Steve's slightly pointed look, he rolled his eyes and added, "And you'll answer some of ours, of course." He received quick, excitable nods from almost the entire crowd, and grinned again. "Great! You, blondie in the red jacket!"

The school-age boy put his hand down and called out, "Where's the Hulk?" Roars of approval met that question, mostly from other boys in red jackets, and Tony had to wait a while before they quieted again.

"Big Green only comes out to smash," Tony answered casually, having received that question enough times before now. "So unless you want to get smashed, you don't want to see him. Next! You, Hispanic in the pink shirt!"

"What are you doing in a place like this?" the girl wanted to know. The agreement was less vocal this time, but no less vehement, and Steve took his opportunity. If he left it up to Tony, they'd be there all day.

"We wanted to find out about what goes on here," he answered, blue eyes earnest. "We heard about the ghost invasion, and we were a bit worried about this place."

The girl clasped her hands together, expression becoming a little dreamy. "Oh, don't worry about us!" she assured them, beaming. "We're perfectly safe here!"

Steve opened his mouth to ask what made her so sure, but was interrupted before he could get another word out.

"Where is the ghost child?"

* * *

**So that's that. Was it any good? I'm not sure if it was up to standard... -.- I hope so. Please review! Advice on Danny Phantom/Avengers would be appreciated!**


	2. Ghost and Phantom

**A/N: Alright, people _really _liked the first chapter. *beam* I'm glad. Thanks to all of you for reviewing! So this is the next one, moving along a bit. *smile* Enjoy!**

**Title: To Be a Hero**

**Author: liketolaugh**

**Rating: T**

**Pairings: None**

**Genre: Drama/Adventure**

**Warnings: None**

**Summary: When Director Fury learns that there is a whole set of villains he's never heard tell of, he's pissed off. When he learns that there's a new superhero to accompany them? What do _you_** **think?**

**Disclaimer: Sadly, Danny Phantom is not mine. Neither are the Avengers.**

* * *

The Avengers whirled on the source of the voice, which had echoed eerily in the air.

Floating before them, glaring down, was what was clearly a ghost. It had a sinister, otherworldly aura about it, but that was all that gave it away, because it was nothing like they had expected.

It was a metal suit, hair flaming poisonous green, and its eyes glowed the same color. With broad shoulders, obviously filled with weapons, and a humanoid shape, it was more like War Machine than Iron Man, but was still very different from either one, because neither had ever looked quite so menacing.

"Well?" it demanded.

Now, based on their reactions so far, Steve fully expected the citizens to begin screaming and running away. He was not disappointed.

As they began to scream and scatter, Tony hastily returned to his suit, but still found time to complain, "Hey, the giant metal battle suit is _my _thing!"

He was ignored.

Steve's eyes were intent on the _thing, _and his voice quiet and determined as he started, "Avengers Assem-"

"Hey, bonehead!"

A black and white blur came soaring toward the ghost, colliding with it and sending it to the ground just as it looked up. They tensed as the blur slowed to a stop, its ethereal aura, just like the machine's but perhaps a little softer, marking it, too, as a ghost. This one, though, was far more human-like than the first, looking almost like a fourteen-year-old boy, albeit one who was floating, unsuspended, in midair. His eyes gleamed the same toxic green of the first ghost's, and his hair shone snow white, flopping almost over his eyes. He looked like he wouldn't be strong enough to lift a kitten, but the force with which he'd rammed into the robot belied strength hidden in the fragile-looking form.

Thor tilted his head slightly, giving the two a confused frown. Draugrs, in his experience, never fought one another, but he let it be, accepting that the Midgardian version was most likely different, as was usually the case.

He was snapped out of his contemplation by the abrupt halt of the humans' flight, as they instead erupted into cheering. "It's Danny Phantom!"

Natasha frowned to herself. "Danny Phantom…?" she murmured. Clint cast her a glance, but she shook her head. For a moment, she'd thought she'd heard the name before, but no. Not quite. Just a brief mention in the paper of the ghost hunters' son; their names were remarkably similar.

The first ghost hit the ground hard enough to leave a crater, but it stood up almost immediately, as though the blow had meant nothing, its mechanical face barely betraying a wince. The blow did, however, send the remaining citizens scattering away, screaming once again. "Ah, so you have arrived at last, ghost child." Its mouth spread into a sinister grin. "Now the hunt can truly begin."

Phantom crossed his arms, scowling down at the mechanical ghost. "I would say 'good luck', Skulker, but you don't seem to have any," he jibed.

The robot's grin merely widened (and Tony considered that, really, figuring out how to allow facial expressions in the Iron Man suit, but he dismissed the thought, because the permanent vaguely threatening look was better for intimidating villains) and he replied, "We'll see about that!"

And with the last word, he lunged, a blade that hadn't been there before gleaming on his fist in a manner reminiscent of Wolverine.

Phantom dodged the blade neatly, and he used the momentum from the motion to swing around in midair and kick Skulker neatly in the back, sending him high into the air. "Up, up, and away!" he muttered to himself, snickering.

Despite himself, Tony snickered, too. Kid had a sense of humor. Clint raised an eyebrow, but looked amused anyway.

Steve held out an arm, eyes narrow and focused, but blocking the other Avengers from interfering. "Let's see how he does," he muttered. A glance at his eyes would tell you that he didn't like this, didn't like leaving a kid (ghostly or otherwise) to fight alone, but if this boy was Amity Park's defense, they needed to know how well he fought.

And Natasha _did _look, and she gave a short nod, standing back just a little. The others followed, not without apprehension.

That apprehension was justified by the robot, Skulker, Phantom had called him, rocketing back down to slam hard into Phantom, sending him flying to the pavement below, leaving another deep crater. The boy didn't recover as easily as the suit (and was there even someone in there?) and seemed pained as he struggled back to his feet, one arm held across his ribs, but he shook it off and flew back into the air.

"Is that all you've got?" he demanded of Skulker, smirking playfully despite the evident pain. "No wonder you haven't caught me yet, Ghost Zone's _Worst _Hunter!"

Skulker's eyes narrowed at the insult and he aimed one of his thick hands, which transformed into a cannon and fired a ball of green energy at Phantom, who dodged. "You've got lousy aim, too!" he jabbed.

"I'll catch you yet, ghost child," Skulker warned, eyes seeming to darken despite their continued glow. "Just you wait."

"No, you won't," Phantom muttered, gaze determined, and he swung his foot, taking Skulker's robotic head clean off his shoulders, making Tony wince a little. The head, though, was quickly caught by Phantom, and the Avengers got a glimpse of a little, squirming green thing within before Phantom recovered a thermos he had strapped to his back and flicked it open, sucking the creature and its robotic head into its depths.

Tony's unseen eyes grew interested and went to the little device. He _had _to find out what that was.

Phantom, who hadn't yet noticed them, capped the thermos, smirking to himself. "Every time," he chuckled to himself, slinging the thermos back over his back. He turned, and then spotted them. His eyes, an eerie, radioactive green, widened.

Natasha, the most suspicious of them, tensed again, Clint following moments after. Even Steve and Tony were a little wary – just the fact that Phantom had fought the ghost didn't mean that he wasn't hostile.

Thor, however, didn't seem to get that memo, because he bounded forward, grinning widely.

"Hello, little Draugr!" he greeted enthusiastically. "You fight well for one so small as yourself!"

Phantom tilted his head slightly, looking confused. Steve couldn't blame him. "Uh… thanks?" Then his gaze flickered between them again, and he seemed to realize something. Moments later, they found out what that something was. "You're the Avengers."

His voice, far from being distasteful or grudging, as many of the smaller heroes were, was tinted with amazement, and more than a hint of delight. He sounded… He sounded like one of the citizens.

Steve, looking a little confused himself, nodded. "That's us."

A wide smile spread across Phantom's face, and, in a complete one-eighty from his largely serious attitude while fighting (snarky banter aside), he started to dart around excitedly, hovering around them like an enthusiastic bumblebee, eyes sparkling. _"Wow! _I-I-I… _wow. _I never thought I'd actually see you. In person, I mean. This is… _wow. _Awesome. Really! What… wait." He paused suddenly, tilting his head in a look of confusion, stopping almost comically in midair. "Why _are _you here?"

"We came about the ghosts," Steve explained honestly, glancing at the remains of the ghost suit. Following his gaze, Phantom smiled sheepishly and sucked that into his thermos, too. Steve smiled. "But I see you have it well in hand."

Phantom rubbed the back of his neck, looking a little embarrassed. "Ah… y-yeah. Yeah. I've had about a year's practice at it now, so… yeah." He smiled a little. "We're alright here. Promise."

Clint glanced at the two craters, then back to Phantom, holding himself a little awkwardly. "Doesn't look alright," he observed skeptically.

Phantom glanced at the damage to the road, winced, ignored the damage to himself, and let his gaze return to Clint. "Working on that," he mumbled, looking a little ashamed. Then, a little defensively, "I'm getting better."

Thor patted Phantom reassuringly. "We are certain that you are, little warrior, but the Man of Fury is stringent in his observations, and wishes to know of this place."

Phantom straightened, looking up at Thor despite his position in the air, and then smiled. He dropped down, letting his feet hit the ground, and somehow, he suddenly looked a lot more human. "Man of Fury?" he questioned.

"Director Fury," Natasha clarified, treading carefully. "We're to report to him."

"Secret stuff, you understand," Clint added, the two spies in complete agreement.

Phantom nodded, looking as though he understood 'secret stuff' _perfectly. _And somehow, they realized, he did.

"What… did you want to know?" he asked haltingly.

"Well…" Steve started, realizing that someone like Phantom would probably know a lot of what they wanted. "Is there anyone else who fights ghosts?"

Phantom looked hesitant. He paused. Fidgeted. Looked away. Finally, he mumbled, to the ground. "Well... yeah. There are the ghost hunters."

Oh. That would explain the hesitation. Still, Steve pressed, a little gentler, "Who are they?"

Phantom glanced up, barely making eye contact for a moment before looking away again. "Um. There's Jack and Maddie Fenton, I suppose. And the Red Huntress." He shifted. "That's mostly it, though."

Steve nodded and changed the subject, looking in a different direction. "Wh-" But he was interrupted.

This time, it was by a pink beam of light, going straight for Phantom, and knocking him hard into the ground. His pain was more clear than before, and his face a little more lined with worry. He glanced at them apologetically, but hastily. "Uh… I gotta go."

Above them, they heard a roar of, "There's no escaping this time, ghost!"

He winced and vanished right in front of them, presumably going invisible, and there was a whisper of wind, barely audible, indicating that he'd flown off. A hoverboard, bearing a female figure dressed in red, zipped past them moments later.

They exchanged looks of confusion.

Then Clint shrugged. "Guess we'll have to go looking somewhere else," he muttered.

To murmurs of agreement, they went to go off asking again. Or attempting to.

Then again, at least they had a direction this time.

* * *

**All right! Got another chapter! Like it? Any ideas? Suggestions? Please review!**


	3. On the Subject of Ghosts

**A/N: Don't expect updates this often, I just don't have much to do. *smile* Go ahead and read!**

**Title: To Be a Hero**

**Author: liketolaugh**

**Rating: T**

**Pairings: None**

**Genre: Drama/Adventure**

**Warnings: None**

**Summary: When Director Fury learns that there is a whole set of villains he's never heard tell of, he's pissed off. When he learns that there's a new superhero to accompany them? What do _you_** **think?**

**Disclaimer: Sadly, Danny Phantom is not mine. Neither are the Avengers.**

* * *

Every time. Every time they asked where Fenton Works, they got the same answer.

A point. "Over that way," they would say. "You can't miss it."

Every. Time.

And then they got to the building. Clint whistled.

"Wow," he said, almost appreciatively. "You really _can't _miss it."

And indeed you couldn't. Not only was the building large, but it had a giant neon sign reading 'Fenton Works' and pointing to the door. On top of that, metaphorically _and _literally, was a monstrous metal _thing, _perched very precariously and yet showing no sign of falling over.

Tony eyed the thing on top speculatively. Catching this, Steve said sternly, _"No, _Tony."

Tony pouted. "But-"

_"No."_

Steve took a deep breath, and then started toward the door. He reached out, hesitantly, and knocked twice on the door.

"I'll get it!" he heard from inside. Moments later, he jumped as the door was wrenched open, revealing a huge man (who appeared to be a mixture of fat and muscle) on the other side. He frowned. "Who are you?" he asked, sounding more confused than annoyed. Then his eyes narrowed. "Wait. You're that group that was on the television. The… the…"

"Avengers," Tony supplied, smirking in amusement.

"Yeah!" Jack agreed enthusiastically. Then he frowned again, returning to his confused state. "I thought you stayed in, what was it… New York! What are you doing here?"

Did everyone feel the need to ask that? "Well, we heard about the ghosts-" Steve began.

The man instantly brightened. "Ahah! The ghosts! Come right in!" Starting to usher them in, grinning madly, he called, "Maddie!"

Looking him over, Steve noted that he was clad in a sort of skintight suit, much like Phantom's. Was that common apparel here? But no, he'd only seen it on those two. _Three, _he amended, seeing someone come in a door.

The new suit-clad figure pulled a sort of hood back from their head, revealing a frowning woman. "Yes? Jack, what is it?" Then her gaze flicked to the Avengers and comprehension dawned in her eyes. "Oh! You're… I see now." She frowned at Jack. "Jack, did you kidnap these nice people?" she questioned sternly.

"No," whined Jack, dropping down onto the couch. Maddie gestured for the Avengers to sit, which they did, a little confused. "They came and asked all on their own, Mads!"

Her frown instantly dropped, replaced by a beaming smile directed at the Avengers. "Well, then, now that's settled, I suppose you have some questions? We are the longest-standing ghost experts in Amity, after all, so you came to the right place."

Clint lounged back, gaze flickering between the two casually, while Natasha maintained a firmer, more straight-backed posture, focusing more on Maddie, who had moved with a dangerous sort of grace most often seen in martial artists, than Jack, who seemed to merely be large. Steve looked a little uncomfortable, unlike Thor, who was looking interested and a little excited, as was usual for him. Tony, of course, was, like Clint, lounging casually.

Thor was the one who spoke first, bouncing slightly in his excitement. "We were most curious about these Midgardian Draugrs of yours – ghosts, yes?" He didn't wait for a response. "They attack these parts often, do they not?"

Jack bristled. "Yes, they do," he confirmed indignantly. "And they… they…" He paused, then looked at Maddie. "What else do they do?" he inquired, a little lost.

"They damage property and terrorize the people, sweetie," she replied kindly.

"Yeah!" he agreed readily. "They damage property and terrorize the people." He looked very proud of this, despite not having lost his indignant edge.

"Whipped," Tony whispered to Clint, who sniggered.

"Oblivious," Natasha corrected. "Or perhaps forgetful." If she'd judged Jack's character correctly, anyway. And she _always _did, with only one notable exception.

"All of them?" Steve asked, concerned. "Even Phantom?"

Maddie clenched her fists around a weapon that wasn't there. "He's the worst," she scowled. "He pretends to be a hero – even acts like one – but we know the truth. Ever since he kidnapped the mayor…"

"He kidnapped the mayor?" Steve frowned. It didn't seem like the boy they'd seen, but first impressions could be wrong.

"That ghost kid is a villain through and through!" insisted Jack, arms crossed and expression almost petulant. "He's stolen, and kidnapped the mayor-"

"I said that already, Jack dear."

"And he keeps breaking into our house!" Jack finished, unbothered by his wife's interruption, still just as indignant as at the start.

"Are you sure?" Natasha pressed, frowning slightly. Her first impressions were rarely wrong.

"Yes," Maddie answered, voice leaving no room for doubt. "He's a ghost, after all, and it's in a ghost's nature to be evil."

Steve furrowed his brow. "Is it really?" he asked, looking slightly bothered.

Seeing this, Maddie gentled a little, but kept going. "It is. We've known that for a while now – Jack and I have studied ghosts almost all our lives, and Phantom? He's just another ghost, I'm afraid, so the front he's showing now will come down sooner or later. But when it does, we'll be prepared." Her fists, clenched in her lap, left no doubt that they _would _be ready, waiting.

"But the young Draugr seemed nothing so much as a human child," Thor mused, frowning. "I do not believe that he would do such a thing as that."

"We're ghost hunters," Maddie started, trying to keep from becoming defensive. "We have been for years now. In all of our experience, _never _has there been a benevolent ghost."

_You would say that, _Natasha thought to herself, tapping her fingers against her leg. But she didn't say it aloud, changing the subject instead. "You said you're ghost hunters?" As had Phantom, and he'd looked a little frightened when he had – with good reason, apparently. "How does that work, exactly?"

"And that thing on your roof," Tony put in, with a slightly excited grin. "What's that?"

Jack brightened. "That's the Op Center, Mr. Stark!"

"And you built it on your house?" Tony pressed, flashing a smirk at Steve, who gave him a warning look.

"Yes, that is the best place for it," Maddie explained, distracted from Natasha's question. "It converts into either a sort of blimp or a jet, depending on the need, and it's armed with all sorts of anti-ghost weaponry." She smiled at Jack, who grinned back, proud of their achievement, and then returned to Natasha's question. "A good bit of Jack's and my time is devoted to either patrolling the town, looking for ghosts, or inventing new weaponry down in the lab." She nodded at the door she'd come from. "Normal weapons don't work on ghosts, you see, but ectoguns and other such powered weapons do."

Tony looked interested. "You have an alternate power source?"

Jack nodded exuberantly, then bounced up, beaming. "Hey, why don't you come see the lab?" he suggested with a grin.

Without waiting for an answer, he ran for the door to the lab.

Maddie smiled ruefully. "I guess we're showing you the lab." She stood, much slower and more graceful than her husband, and turned, calling, "Jack, wait for us!"

"You got it, Mads!" came the muffled reply.

Maddie shook her head and headed toward the door, smiling.

* * *

**I'm in a hurry, can't say much, but I hope you liked it! Please review!**


	4. The Good and the Bad

**A/N: Heheheh... So this is another mostly-dialogue chapter... *sheepish smile* But they _are _on an information gathering mission, so you really can't expect much less. So... enjoy!**

**Title: To Be a Hero**

**Author: liketolaugh**

**Rating: T**

**Pairings: None**

**Genre: Drama/Adventure**

**Warnings: None**

**Summary: When Director Fury learns that there is a whole set of villains he's never heard tell of, he's pissed off. When he learns that there's a new superhero to accompany them? What do _you_** **think?**

**Disclaimer: Sadly, Danny Phantom is not mine. Neither are the Avengers.**

* * *

"And this is the Fenton Ghost Portal!" Jack finished, beaming proudly as he gestured to the swirly green hole in the wall.

Thor looked at it with interest. "A Ghost Portal, you say?"

"It's a portal that leads straight into the Ghost Zone!" Jack explained, crossing his arms with a grin of pride. Tony snickered.

"Who named that?" he asked, innocently enough. Natasha jabbed him in the ribs anyway, ignoring his protests.

"It leads to a different world?" Thor clarified, interest intensifying. "Does it tap into the Bifrost?"

Maddie frowned. "The Bifrost?" She shook her head. "No, not at all. The Ghost Zone runs parallel to our world, actually, so, relative to other dimensions, opening a portal to it is a relatively simple matter." She smiled wryly. "Not that that's saying much."

"Richards never opened a portal to the Ghost Zone," Tony commented, looking almost gleeful. Tony Stark did not like Reed Richards. "How do they work?" he added, looking around at the various (mostly glowing green) devices. Having once been in the weapons industry himself, he wondered at the necessity of having each gun be so bulky, not to mention some of the other things he saw laying about.

"Well," Maddie began, tapping her fingers against her thigh. That was all it took for the three of them to delve into a deeply technical conversation, mostly involving power, efficiency, energy, and such.

Most of the team was greatly confused.

"Mom?" a voice called from upstairs. "Dad? Are you home?" Then, colored with suspicion, "Are you in the lab again?"

A redheaded girl poked her head into the lab door, and then teal eyes widened. "Oh!" A soft blush stole across her face as her gaze landed on each Avenger in turn. "You're…" she trailed off, not finishing the sentence.

"Hello, miss," Steve said politely, not missing her mortification. "I take it you're the Fentons' daughter?"

She nodded, face red. "My name is Jazz," she whispered, just loud enough to be heard. Then she shook her head and straightened up, looking as though she was accustomed to keeping her head clear, though the blush didn't leave her face.

"It's nice to meet you, Jazz," Steve replied, smiling gently. "Do you mind if we ask you some questions?" He gave the two elder Fentons an apologetic look. "You've been very helpful, Dr. Fenton, but it would be nice to hear something with less… _science."_

Maddie smiled at him, a hint of mirth bubbling up in it. "Oh, we don't mind. It was an honor to meet you, Captain."

"I will go with them as well, I think," Thor said ruefully, long since having gotten lost. While he was far from stupid, some of the Midgardian sciences escaped him, and that of their Draugrs was one of them.

"Count me in," Clint added hastily. Natasha nodded.

Jazz blushed again, but valiantly ignored it. "I'd be happy to help, Captain. Let's go to the living room – it's more comfortable there."

The four Avengers followed her into the living room and onto the couch, where she sat, and they sat nearby. Only Tony remained behind, deep in technobabble with the Fentons. Steve had a horrible feeling that he knew which area of science Tony would experiment with next.

She looked slightly uncomfortable, and a little apologetic. "I'm sorry for my parents," she said quietly. "They get a little _overexcited _when it comes to ghosts… ghost hunting especially."

"I hadn't noticed," Clint said dryly. She smiled sheepishly, then shook her head again.

"Well! What did you want to know?"

Steve didn't get to questioning right away, instead commenting, "Your parents really do seem to hate ghosts."

A deep frown marred Jazz's face and she nodded. "They always have. They're a bit obsessed, actually, but they insist that ghosts don't have any feelings, that they can't feel pain like humans can." She crossed her arms, still frowning.

Natasha could sense a rant bubbling up in there, years' worth of resentments, but that wasn't what she was after. She was after information. "What do _you _think of ghosts, then?"

Jazz took a deep breath, steadying herself. "Ghosts are… _extreme. _In a word, they're extreme." She looked up at them, eyes gleaming with a strange mix of certainty and uncertainty. She was sure she was right, but wasn't sure she should be saying this, Natasha thought to herself. "I think that in death, good people get better." She shivered slightly. "But bad people get worse." She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, a nervous motion. "The thing is… more bad people become ghosts than good people, so ghosts are more likely to be malevolent than not." She shook her head. "But it's not inherent… there are good ghosts too, you know." Her eyes softened slightly, as if she knew some of these good ghosts.

"What makes your opinion different?" Steve asked.

Jazz blew out a long breath, considering her answer carefully. Finally, she replied, "Well, first, I was raised knowing about ghosts, though I wasn't always sure they were real. In fact, for years, I was convinced they weren't." She shook her head at herself, exasperated. "My parents hunted ghosts long before I was born, but I had never seen one. Even so, they were so _convinced _that they were nothing but evil, and I wondered, then, how that was possible." She sighed again. "Now… I'm majoring in psychology. I did a thesis on Ghost Envy, and I'm taking a course in ghost psychology in particular.

"But even more than that, I've _met _good ghosts. Most of Phantom's enemies – you _have _heard of Phantom?" she directed that last question to the Avengers, breaking out of her semi-trance, as if just remembering that they were there.

Natasha was the one who nodded, but she remained silent – Jazz was explaining a great deal that her parents hadn't.

Jazz continued. "Most of Phantom's enemies attack the school, so the teen population of Amity sees him a lot more than the rest of the town." She looked like she was choosing her words carefully now, altering some and holding back others altogether. Natasha wondered at that. "I've talked to him a few times, too. He isn't evil. And, just looking at him fight, it's clear he feels pain." She shook her head, eyes a little dim. "Other ghosts do too, if you look at them when they fight. You just have to look."

"Are there other good ghosts, besides Phantom?" Steve asked.

She nodded, a soft, almost wistful smile forming on her lips. "Yeah, there are. Most of them stay in the Ghost Zone, though, because of my parents."

"Then why doesn't Phantom?" Natasha asked.

She looked slightly uneasy, almost unwilling to reply, and then her gaze sparked with surprise. "Danny!"

They looked over to see the door open, and a black-haired teen standing in the doorway, a purple backpack slung over her shoulder. He looked _normal, _not at all like the son of a ghost hunter, but then, neither did Jazz. There was something about him, though, that made Steve give him a second look, though he couldn't put his finger on exactly what, only that there was _something _odd, something _not normal. _But Steve tried to shove the thought away; it wasn't his place to interfere, and he wasn't here for the Fenton children, he was here to look into the ghosts. Blue eyes darted to fix on the Avengers, and surprise flickered through his eyes, followed by realization, and then he seemed to force himself to relax, instead letting a wide smile cross his face.

Natasha wondered at that, she really did.

"The Avengers," he muttered, almost to himself, a slightly excited smile crossing his face. Natasha studied him for a moment; he seemed oddly familiar, as if she'd seen him before, but she couldn't place him, and after a moment, she let it lie. Perhaps he'd been a part of the crowd earlier. Then his gaze darted to Jazz. "Hey, Jazz. Um…"

"Why are the Avengers in our house?" Jazz supplied, amused. He nodded. "They wanted to learn about ghosts. I'm just giving them a different point of view from Mom and Dad's."

Something between a grimace and a smile crossed Danny's face. "Yeah, that's probably a good idea."

"I – we – would appreciate it if you told us a bit too," Steve offered, eyes gleaming with the sort of honesty that made Tony make fun of him. "We want to be thorough when we finally report, so we need as many different opinions as we can get."

Danny smiled, a little awkwardly, and nodded. "OK."

He shuffled over and sat next to his sister, and she gave him a little smile, but with a hint of concern. He shook his head at her and looked at the Avengers. "Um, what were you talking about?"

"We were talking about…" Jazz faltered for a moment, stealing a glance at them too. "Good ghosts! We were talking about good ghosts."

Natasha gave her a slightly sharp look, but let it pass, though she made a mental note of it for later. Then she shook her head at herself; there probably wouldn't _be _a later.

Danny relaxed a little, like this was familiar territory. "Oh, okay. Well… There's the Dairy King." He snickered.

"Who's that?" Clint asked, raising an eyebrow.

"The ghost of the former owner of a dairy farm," he explained, chuckling a little. "He haunts a mansion in Wisconsin, and he's obsessed with royalty and cheese."

"Are there more of these benevolent Draugrs?" Thor wanted to know.

Danny faltered a little, uncertain. Then his gaze cleared a bit. "Well, there's Poindexter. Um… he's not _good, _exactly, but he's not _bad. _Just… a little judgmental, I guess. He hates bullies."

Steve nodded; he could relate to that.

"We don't know many," Jazz put in hastily, seeing that Danny was beginning to scramble for good ghosts that weren't Phantom. "We don't interact with them much, you understand, at least partially because we're the children of ghost hunters. But we know they're there."

"I understand," promised Steve. "We'll stop bugging you now."

"It's no trouble," Jazz protested quickly, but Steve wasn't fooled; there was a hint of relief in her eyes. While he wasn't sure why, he knew that she'd been fast growing uncomfortable with the route the conversation was taking.

"We're imposing," Steve insisted instead. "Besides, we need to drag Tony away from that lab before he gets too many ideas."

"Well… okay," she said hesitantly. "If you're sure." She smiled a little. "It was an honor to meet you all."

"It was nice to meet you as well, Jazz, Danny," Thor boomed, beaming at them.

They both smiled back, a little hesitant, and waved as they left, already partially immersed in discussion.

* * *

**The next chapter has action, I swear! No more all-talking chapters (for now)! Please review!**


	5. Master of Things Technical and Shocking

**A/N: And... action! Sorry this took awhile. I got back into my other stories, since I've got my flash drive back.**

**Title: To Be a Hero**

**Author: liketolaugh**

**Rating: T**

**Pairings: None**

**Genre: Drama/Adventure**

**Warnings: None**

**Summary: When Director Fury learns that there is a whole set of villains he's never heard tell of, he's pissed off. When he learns that there's a new superhero to accompany them? What do _you_** **think?**

**Disclaimer: Sadly, Danny Phantom is not mine. Neither are the Avengers.**

* * *

"Think that's enough info to satisfy Fury?" Clint asked Steve, grimacing in boredom.

Steve frowned in thought, and then looked to Natasha, who answered for him, "Fury's never satisfied, Barton."

Steve chuckled a little and gave his own answer. "I think that should be alright, Clint. We've gathered what's strictly necessary."

"Indeed!" agreed Thor. "We have gathered much information for the Man of Fury, though I find myself somewhat concerned about the state of this place."

Steve nodded with a frown. "Yeah, Phantom-"

Steve never got to finish his sentence, because at that moment, they heard screaming nearby.

"Never a dull moment," Tony muttered with a smirk.

Steve didn't bother shooting him a frown, already going in that direction. The others followed, the previous levity dropping away like a mask, and in its place was pure intensity, because the screaming hadn't yet stopped.

They rounded the corner and found Phantom in the grasp of another ghost. From the way he was twitching jerkily, some of the screams they'd heard wrenching themselves from his throat, he was being electrocuted. Badly.

It was at the same moment that they lunged forward again, Steve already distributing orders (Phantom had, after all, already been cased), that Phantom was thrown to the ground, grinding along the pavement for a moment before he came to a stop, shaking slightly, probably from pain, Steve thought. Finally, he grabbed his shield from his back and aimed, eyes narrow and focused on the ghost.

"Avengers, go!" he snapped, and he threw the shield.

The ghost turned to look at them, frowning, and didn't have time to react before the shield plowed into him, and he yelled as it tossed him further into the air, while bouncing away and back to Steve.

That was when Phantom shook off the blow he'd been dealt and jumped back into the fight, blasting an attacking television off of its collision course with Steve. Steve spared the ghost boy a brief nod, and Phantom gave him a brief smile back before focusing on the ghost, who had now recovered, again.

"That's Technus," the boy explained quickly, poisonous eyes darting to the ghost, to Steve, and back again. "He controls technology – can overshadow it, or move it around."

Steve mumbled something about the future being ridiculous and aimed another throw at Technus, distracting him long enough for Natasha to get him with the Widow's Bite, making him screech as the weapon shocked him.

Then Technus turned his gaze, eyes hidden behind rectangular lenses, on Tony, and his expression brightened. "You are the human with that _interesting _suit of armor!"

Steve could practically hear Tony raising an eyebrow as the other man fired a repulsor blast that Technus avoided swiftly. "Why, yes, I am." He bowed in midair, keeping his gaze on the ghost. "Tony Stark, here to get rid of you."

Technus brightened further. "Ah! I, Technus, shall have this suit of armor, and with it, I shall –" An arrow headed for him, and he paused for a moment. Then the arrow went right through him, making Clint curse over the com unit, and he continued as though he hadn't been interrupted. "Take over the world!"

"Is this guy for real?" Tony complained. "And how are you going to do th- Whoa!"

Technus had stretched out an arm toward him, gaze sparking with anticipation, and another buzz ran along his arm, absorbing itself with a crackle into his hand. At the same time, Tony's armor started to, Steve couldn't believe it, _disengage _in midair, and the Mark V detached itself from its master and folded up into the little suitcase form. Tony was left hanging in the air in a fashion that would have been comical, were it not for the shocked and horrified expression on his face while the armor flew into the waiting hands of Technus.

Then he started to fall.

He didn't fall far, though; Phantom shot towards him like a jet and caught him under his arms. Phantom didn't even seem to show any sort of strain as he dropped lower to let Tony down by Steve, both men's faces still caught between shock and fear.

Steve recovered himself first. "Iron Man, off the field!" he snapped. "Phantom, good catch."

Phantom nodded quickly, acid gaze intent as he turned again to track Technus, but he hovered for a moment as Tony hurried off to duck behind a car; not as far away as Steve would like, but he knew by experience that Tony wouldn't be persuaded to go off the field entirely, and that was as good as he was going to get.

Just as Phantom, following a failed blow from Mjolnir, took off again, Steve called after him, "Try to get the suitcase armor back, Phantom!"

"Got it, Captain!" Phantom called back, eyes zeroing in on the armor, which Technus was holding under his arm as he summoned more and more technology to whirl around him, more often than not being destroyed by a hammer strike or an explosive arrow. But it just kept coming. Steve ducked behind his shield as a computer monitor soared toward him, smashing to pieces against the barrier. The tide had turned, he realized. Technus was learning, avoiding most of their attacks entirely. They just went right through him.

The Avengers were the best superhero team out there, but they just weren't equipped to fight ghosts.

"Hey, Tech_no!" _Phantom called out, causing Technus to go 'eh?' and look at him with a frown. "Didn't anyone ever tell you not to take things that aren't yours?"

"Human sentimentality," Technus dismissed, fending Phantom off and holding the armor away from him. "The armor is mine now, ghost child!"

Phantom was faster than Technus; he ducked around before the tech ghost could react and grabbed the armor in an iron grip. "Basic morals, Technus! No one likes a thief." He pulled on the suitcase, but Technus' grip was unrelenting, and he was soon straining, luminescent green eyes snapping with intensity, teeth gritted.

"It's mine now!" Technus insisted, pulling at the same time as Phantom, and a sickening pop cracked through the air. Phantom yelled, pain echoing in the sound, but Technus' grip failed and Phantom snapped back, spiraling back through the air, one shoulder out of place. Steve winced.

Phantom swiftly regained control of his flight path, zipping toward the car Tony had stationed himself behind in a slightly ragged fashion, and he hovered off the ground, gingerly passing it off to the older man. "I got it," he said unnecessarily, voice a little breathless.

"Yeah," Tony muttered. "I can see that."

He leaned down to activate the armor, and then straightened up as it began to reengage. Phantom watched, a hint of wonder pushing out the slight tinge of exhaustion creeping into his glowing eyes, as the armor unfolded and then covered Tony one part at a time

Finally, Tony straightened again, and, in the slightly robotic tones of the Iron Man suit, said to Phantom, "Kid, get off the field, we've got this."

Phantom's eyes glinted with uncertainty and hesitation, but he didn't move to follow when Tony blasted off to jump back into the fight.

It was soon clear, though, that they weren't doing that great. Technus had wised up, and most of his time was spent too high for Natasha's Widow's Bite, and intangible, so that Clint's arrows and Steve's shield flew through him without leaving a mark. Thor's lightening and Tony's repulsors seemed to work, but the ghost was fast and not everything hit. Everyone was tiring, and they weren't making any headway.

Finally, Phantom made a quick decision, and jumped back in, regardless of what Tony had said. He knew how to fight ghosts. They didn't.

In the end, it really came down to that.

After that, the fight was over in under half an hour; they'd worn the ghost down, with Tony's repulsors and Phantom's ectoblasts being the chief weapons (as lightening was extremely destructive, especially when it missed), and finally, Phantom had taken out that strange thermos and sucked Technus into it, grinning tiredly.

Then the ghost boy, giving them a brief smile and a wave, flew off, flight path a little wobbly and jagged.

Steve didn't need to order his team to go after him; they followed the boy into the alley, where they found him sitting on a crate, jaw set and brow furrowed. He was also glaring at his shoulder, acid eyes threatening to eat a hole into it.

"Is that dislocated?" Steve asked, voice concerned, making Phantom jump.

The ghost looked up at them uneasily and nodded. "Yeah," he said, voice a little low, and he took hold of it in one hand, making as if to rotate it back into place himself.

Tony winced. "Never thought I'd be grateful for SHIELD medical," he muttered to Steve, who started forward, stopping the ghostly teenager.

"I got it," he promised the boy, gently placing one hand on Phantom's collarbone, and the other gripping his arm tight. Phantom gave him a nervous look, but let his hand drop from his shoulder.

Steve waited for one second, two, and then yanked hard. Phantom let out a hiss as the shoulder popped back into place, but then looked up at Steve.

"Thanks," he said quietly, looking a little awkward.

"No problem," Steve replied neutrally, acting as though it had been nothing unusual. And it wasn't, exactly – it was just that normally it wasn't a _kid's _shoulder he was relocating. Phantom looked away, eyes searching for something he didn't seem to be finding, and Steve looked for a change of subject. Suddenly, his mind wandered to what they'd heard about the boy so far, from others, and his mouth tightened into a frown. "You've got a fair bit of bad press," Steve commented guardedly. He wasn't going to start making assumptions yet, but there really was a good bit of evidence.

Phantom jumped and turned to look at him. Then he processed what the older hero had said and rubbed the back of his neck. "Yeah," he admitted. Seeing Steve's expectant look, he continued, wincing, "It's… complicated. Let's just say that there are ways for ghosts to control humans… but that humans have ways to control ghosts too."

Steve looked like he wanted Phantom to go on. He didn't ask, though, and Phantom didn't volunteer anything more. An awkward silence descended over them again.

Tony was the one that broke it, and honestly, Steve was a little thankful, especially because the alternative was Thor, who had, a moment after, turned to Natasha and asked plaintively that _hadn't she said that their teenagers were too young for heroics? _And even Steve didn't want to go there with the open-hearted demigod. With Tony talking, he could place his focus elsewhere.

"What's this, anyway?" Tony asked, stealing Phantom's glove from his hand and holding it up to his face in interest. "Some kind of latex?"

"Haz-mat suit," Phantom answered automatically. Then he chuckled wryly. "Lot of good it did me."

_So that's what he died in, _Steve thought with a wince. Phantom didn't seem to notice the tension that had suddenly befallen the group, but instead let his eyes wander slightly, only to have them land on Tony, who was pacing away from them with the glove.

"Is this at least damage resistant?" Tony demanded, pulling at the glove experimentally. It stretched easily, giving away nothing.

"No," Phantom answered, smiling ruefully. "Pretty much anything will just go right through it." He turned slightly, revealing where the suit had worn slightly from when Technus had thrown him in the beginning of the fight.

Tony nearly dropped the glove, and it was lucky that Phantom wasn't watching them, because just about every other one of them had a similar reaction, only a bit less subtle. Steve paled, Thor's brow furrowed in agitation, Clint really _did _drop his bow, and though Natasha gave away nothing, something glinted in her eyes, something discontented.

Their suits – Tony and Thor's armor aside, because that was a category all its own – were reinforced. _All _of them. Tony had made sure of it. Each battle suit, from Steve's uniform to Natasha's catsuit, was fireproof, non-conductive, and damage resistant. Among other things only Tony knew.

And they _still _got hurt, almost more often than not.

Tony recovered fast, dropping the glove onto Phantom's lap. "That is not okay," he announced, gesturing emphatically. Phantom turned a puzzled look on him. "No. That is an _insult _to battle suits everywhere, it's _unacceptable. _Why isn't it?"

"Uh… Because it's not a battle suit?"

"No excuse!"

A phone rang. Tony picked it up and winced.

Oops. They'd forgotten about Bruce.

He answered the call and set it to speaker. Bruce's voice came, quick and concerned.

_"Where are you? Did something go wrong?"_

"We're fine, Big Green," Tony dismissed instantly. "Just got caught up in something."

_"Got caught up in something? What happened?"_

"We met the ghost kid of the town," Clint replied. "Phantom, say hi."

Phantom glanced at him and then said, almost wryly, "Hi."

_"Ghost kid? What- actually, no. Tony?"_

Tony seemed to catch on quickly and he brightened. "Hey, Phantom!"

Phantom seemed to hear something in the man's tone that no one else was quite catching and looked at the scientist warily. "Yeah?"

"Happen to have a spare bit of ectoplasm?"

Phantom paused, and then shrugged, wincing as he did. "Well, yeah… my blood is ectoplasm, so…"

_"That's not necessary-" _Bruce said over the phone hastily, seeming to realize his mistake. Tony pouted.

"But Bruce!"

_"No, Tony. We're not making the nice ghost cut himself to get an ectoplasm sample."_

Tony pouted. "But-"

"We should be heading back," Steve broke in, seeing that this was going nowhere fast. "It was good meeting you, Phantom."

Phantom smiled at him. "It was an honor, Captain." He swept his gaze over the group, and added, "All of you."

"It was enlightening to meet you as well, young Draugr!" Thor boomed, breaking abruptly from his silence to beam at Phantom, who smiled back.

They turned to leave, and Tony called over his shoulder, "Expect to find a new suit sent to an empty warehouse. Wearing that one is a disgrace to heroes!"

Phantom nearly protested, but thought better of it at the last moment, calling back instead, with a wide grin, "Thanks, Mr. Stark!"

"Don't thank me, kid!"

And they headed off back to the Quinjet as Phantom soared back into the air behind them.

* * *

**Was that good? It was good, right? Bruce isn't my best... well, whatever. Please review!**


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